Board – Studies and Volunteer Opportunities

Postpartum Research Studies and Volunteer Opportunities

Recovering from Postpartum Depression- Study: From the Voices of Mothers

Vernice Wright, M.A., LCPC, N.C.C., CADC, M.I.S.A., a graduate at the Illinois School of Professional Psychology in the Counseling Education and Supervision (CES) Department of Argosy University- Chicago is conducting a research study on the mother’s experience with PPMD and treatment. The purpose study is to explore the lived experiences of women that were diagnosed and treated for a postpartum mood disorder (PPMD). This study is will explore women’s recovery experience from PPMD to better understand the recovery process, the method of treatment, and which treatment approach was most helpful. This study will help other mothers, families, and healthcare professional better understand the mother’s perspective to better meet the needs of women and educate others on the benefits of treatment.

To qualify for the study women must be between the ages of 25-35, with children between the ages of 1-5yo, had a PPMD and received treatment. Women must not be currently experiencing major or severe depression. Your participation is completely on a voluntary basis. If you choose to participate in this study, you will be asked to complete a demographic survey and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale on SurveyMonkey or via phone call. The survey will take approximately 3-5 minutes or less to complete screening. After completing the two surveys, if you meet criteria a follow up call to schedule a face to face interview or phone interview (9 questions study). The interview will not exceed 45-60 minutes. All information will be confidential. No identifying information will be utilized in the study. If you are interested and have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact Vernice Wright at:

Treatment Preferences for Postpartum Depression – Internet Survey

Aligned with the PPMD Awareness Month in Illinois, Kathie Wisner, M.D., M.S., Director of the Asher Center for the Assessment and Treatment of Depression in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern and Dr. Jackie Gollan, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Asher Center are conducting a research study to determine women’s preferences for treatment for postpartum depression. Your treatment preferences will help us design new treatments for women with postpartum mood disorders.

Women will qualify for this internet survey if they have delivered a baby within the past 90 days and have ‘felt sad for two weeks straight’ within the last 90 days, and they are currently experiencing depression. The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete on the internet and women will be compensated via a $10 Amazon gift card for their time. Their responses will be confidential and we do not collect identifying information.

The URL is: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/treatment_prefs_PPD. If you have any questions or concerns, you may contact Jackie Gollan at 312-695-6121, or Dr. Katherine Wisner at 1-855-99-ASHER. Our Northwestern University IRB approval number for this study is STU00088398, approved through 3/2/2015.

Transcranial Magnetic Simulation for Postpartum Depression – Study

The Rush University Medical Center seeks study participants. Are you experiencing any of these symptoms before or after the birth of your child?

Depressed mood nearly everyday

Feelings of guilt

Feeling anxious

A sense of being overwhelmed or unable to care for your baby

Feelings of inadequacy, and of being a failure as a mother

Difficulty bonding with your baby

We are currently seeking women who have been diagnosed with Postpartum Depression for an experimental research study using Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) to treat Postpartum Depression. TMS is an FDA-approved, non-invasive medical treatment that has been used to treat clinical depression in thousands of patients. It has also been studied by researchers for 20+ years. You must be at least 18 years old and in good physical health.

Participants will receive study treatment at no cost. Patients will also receive a stipend for travel or childcare costs. For more information about the study, please contact Kumail Hussain, research coordinator at 312-942-7272 or kumail_hussain@rush.edu.

A graduate student at DePaul’s School of Nursing in collaboration with Linda Graf, WHNP-C, APN, CNM, RN are conducting a research study to determine what prevents women with post partum depression from being diagnosed timely and treated for this diagnosis. We are asking you to be in the research because you have experience post partum depression first-hand. If you agree to be in this study, you will be asked to fill out a questionnaire. The questionnaire will include questions to determine if you believe there were any problems of difficulties that made your diagnosis, or treatment difficult. We will also collect some personal information about you such as age, education level, marital status, demographic and income. This information will be collected by questionnaire. If there is a question you do not want to answer, you may skip it.

You must be age 18 or older to be in this study. You must also have delivered a baby within the last 10 years, and have experienced post partum depression and/or symptoms of post partum depression beginning within one year after delivery.

The URL is: http://postpartumdepressionsurvey.wordpress.com/about/, and from here you can access the survey. If you have questions about your rights as a research subject you may contact Susan Loess-Perez, DePaul University’s Director of Research Compliance, in the Office of Research Services at 312-362-7593 or by email at sloesspe@depaul.edu. Our Research Protocol number is # AK040714NUR, and approval was received on May 14th, 2014.”

Childcare Volunteers Wanted for PPD Support Group

Healthcare Alternative Systems H.A.S. is looking for volunteers to assist us with providing childcare during their Friday morning PPD support group.

The groups are run out of the HAS facility at 1942 N California Ave, Chicago, 60647 on Fridays mornings from 10am – 12pm.